Piano Virtuoso Presents Free Masterclass At Loyola

Stephen Hough, lauded as one of the world’s leading concert pianists, will present a masterclass at Loyola University Friday, Nov. 30 at 10 a.m.

Hailed by the press as a piano virtuoso, Hough’s distinguished career includes performances around the world and a catalogue of more than 50 albums. In 2001, he was the first classical performing artist to win a MacArthur Foundation Fellowship, and later received Northwestern University’s Jean Gimbel Lane Prize in piano and the Royal Philharmonic Society’s Instrumentalist Award.

Hough also excels as a writer and composer, and his compositions include chamber, choral, symphonic, instrumental and solo piano works. He has written for multiple British publications and continues to write a cultural blog for the Telegraph Media Group. Hough is a visiting professor at the Royal Academy of Music in London and holds the International Chair of Piano Studies at his alma mater, the Royal Northern College in Manchester. Hough will perform Brahms’ “Piano Concerto No. 2” with the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra at the First Baptist Church in New Orleans Thursday, Nov. 29.

This event is part of the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra Masterclass Series at Loyola, which in the fall featured Yo-Yo Ma on cello, Christopher Martin on trumpet and Jay Friedman on trombone. Clarinetist Jose Franch-Ballester and violist Roberto Diaz will present classes in the spring. The series offers live webcasts of several of these events, all of which are free and open to the public.

“The LPO is thrilled to partner with Loyola to provide a masterclass series for the next generation of orchestral musicians to learn from today’s most talented soloists,” said James William Boyd, interim managing director for the LPO. “This is just another example of the LPO’s focus on fostering collaborations with cultural and educational institutions across the state in order to make orchestral music a part of the lives of all Louisianans.”

The event, which is free and open to the public, will take place in Louis J. Roussel Performance Hall, located in the Communications/Music Complex on the corner of St. Charles Avenue and Calhoun Street.